"The FTC alleged that the Sonnenbergs were conning consumers and that the ex parte action was necessary lest they hide their assets or flee the country.

Except that two months later, Utah federal judge Dee Benson ruled that the agency had got it wrong. The restraining order was “overbroad,” there was “no need for the appointment of a receiver,” and the FTC “has failed to show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits of its claim,” Benson wrote in dissolving the order."

....

"Benson was convinced. In a terse ruling, he dissolved all the orders against the Sonnenbergs, leaving in place only a partial asset freeze against Essent.

Now the Sonnenbergs have filed a counterclaim against the FTC, seeking damages stemming from the work of the receiver, Robb Evans & Associates, and its primary counsel, McKenna Long & Aldridge. The Sonnenbergs say the receiver wouldn’t let them service their other coaching clients, which cost them $920,000 in refunds, and pulled the plug on a web-hosting business that brought in $800,000 a month. Also in dispute is who pays the receiver, which billed nearly $500,000 for 37 days of work. Normally, payment comes from the frozen assets."